Stephen King's latest novel, Finders Keepers, is coming in only nine days. Having read most of King's works, the day when his latest novel drops is always an exciting one for me.

For those not in the know, FS is a sequel to last year's Mr. Mercedes.

Since I have read most of King's work, I feel like I can make some predictions about the upcoming book. That's not to say King is formulaic -- he ain't (usually). However, any author who has been around 40+ years is going to have a few defining qualities in his work -- some good, some bad.

My predictions for Finders Keepers:

- There will probably be a recovering alcoholic in the book at some point. This is a trope King has beaten to death in recent years, and I wish he would drop it already, but it is what it is.

- A love interest will die.

- There will be some entertaining and thoughtful comments on the writing process. This is the first King book in a long while to feature an author/commentary on writing, so I'm excited about that. Steve always delivers on that front.

- The book will be highly readable and I'll regret having finished it so quickly.

- It won't be as good as its predecessor, Mr. Mercedes. Sequels are almost never as good.

- Jerome will drop the jive-talk. (Please God in heaven, let him drop the jive-talk.)

- When I finish it I will be completely satisfied, as I almost always am when finishing a book by my favorite author.